


i want to hear you say

by therebaeka



Series: in which ye means chaos [2]
Category: Chaos Theory Fandom, 全职高手 - 蝴蝶蓝 | Quánzhí Gāoshǒu - Húdié Lán, 全职高手 | The King's Avatar (Cartoon)
Genre: (kind of all over again but not really), 4 + 1 things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chaos Theory, Crack, Falling In Love, Feel-good, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humour, M/M, fanfic of a fanfic, the crack turned serious oh no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-03 07:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19459276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therebaeka/pseuds/therebaeka
Summary: Four times Zhou Zekai called The Phone NumberTMand a different Ye answered, and the One time Ye Xiu answered





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Invidia_Envy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Invidia_Envy/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Chaos Theory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14411961) by [Invidia_Envy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Invidia_Envy/pseuds/Invidia_Envy). 



> I love ZhouWu okay. And the newest chapter just brings me to new and greater heights.
> 
> But then I read my SongWu fic and my gosh, this is hard. Which to ship? So much hardship, eh? eh?

Zhou Zekai braced himself.

The number Senior gave him seemed to taunt him. He practiced what he would say in front of the mirror but his nervousness didn't go away. He still couldn’t bring himself to press the call button.

Just do it, he kept giving himself continuous pep talks in his mind.

Ay, he groaned and hit his forehead with his phone. He wondered if his Vice Captain could help push him to press the call button.

 _Ring_.

He blinks in surprise when he hears the telltale sound of a call being done. He sees the word 'calling' for Senior Ye's contact number. He had accidentally pressed the call button.

A sharp inhale. He wanted to press cancel but a larger part of him prayed the call would come through.

With every ring, his breath shortens. It feels like a long time before the call connected.

"New phone, who dis?" The casual greeting made him blink. The voice sounded different. Less the rough voice his mind can hear even in silence and more young, boyish in a way. "Hello?" 

"Senior…?" He asked, wanting to clear the confusion his mind saying that the tone is Senior Ye's but the voice isn't.

"Huh?" Confusion can be heard, "Who is this?" 

"Zhou Zekai…" He feels a part of his heart breaking. Did Senior not save his number? Or maybe he just answered the call without checking the caller ID. Yes, he assured himself, that's probably it.

There was only a small sound of "oh," from the other end. 

He steels himself and says, "Senior, I won the championship."

Zhou Zekai wondered if that was okay or if that was too formal. He wanted to try being casual with Senior and he hopes it does come up like that. He wanted to ask Senior Ye for his opinion, maybe fish for some praise.

Before he could, the other end cuts him. "Er - sorry, um, Zhou Zekai," Senior Ye's tone becomes more awkward and that wasn't how he knows him. "My brother, Ye Xiu, is not around."

Zhou Zekai's eyes widened and his face flushed red. "Oh," his lips trembled, "sorry."

He wants to die. This is too embarrassing. This is somewhere in between better and worse than fumbling in front of his crush. This is him fumbling in front of his crush's brother.

"No problem. I'll tell Xiu-ge to call you back later when he's back, are you okay with that?" Senior Ye's brother is far too kind.

He wants to say that they should just forget the whole thing, but here he is wanting to relay that he had called. He wondered which brother he would have to thank.

"So, uh, will you be okay with that?" Ye-di asks after the silence from his end.

"En," he nods and realizes that he can't be seen by the one on the other end. "Yes."

"Okay, I'm hanging up now." Ye-di says, and he ended the call.

Zhou Zekai looked down at his phone and gave a sigh. How disappointing that he wasn't able to hear Senior's voice. But, he brightens, Ye-di will tell Senior that he called and he might call him back.

Zhou Zekai's phone never left his side and with every notification, it was whipped out. Everyone was definitely on edge that week because of him.

\---

Ye Xiuwu _meant_ to tell San Ye. Really.

No lies. 

There was only one little problem.

Mucheng introduced him to tear jerking Korean drama that just hurts his soul. It was a beautiful experience.

They ended up forgetting about playing that day and the next. With eyes glued to the screen, they spent an entire day finishing 20 episode of historical Korean drama where Ye Xiuwu laughed, cried, and ended up in a sobbing mess as his CP ends up being broken into tiny pieces - just like his heart.

It was a glorious experience.

He wanted to rewatch it.

So, he did. Twice.

And then he found a more modern K-drama that just broke his heart even more. He loved it.

And that is how Ye Xiuwu forgot the fact that - the Gunner King, the Face of Glory, voted most handsome player - Zhou Zekai ever called.

Oops.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason ZZK is part of Xiuwu's Must Avoid List is because everyone in his family (except his good third brother sometimes) tease him about the whole ZZK/YXW tag back in All-Stars 8th.

Senior Ye didn't call him.

Zhou Zekai had been pouting the whole week. He was hurt that Senior didn't call back, but he tried to ease his hurt by thinking logically.

After all, Senior  _ wouldn't  _ just not call him back if he knows he called, right? So that means Ye-di must have forgotten to tell him.

Yes, that's what it was.

Senior Ye didn't know he called so he needs to try again. Who knows, maybe he hasn't forgotten his phone this time.

"Senior, I called before. How are you?" He repeated the question in front of the mirror, “Senior Ye," he takes a deep breath and watches himself fumble in the mirror, "how are you?"

He tried to calm his breathing. He needs to be calm, cool and collected. Senior Ye is cool and mature. He surrounds himself with strong, cool, and mature people ( _ Huang Shaotian who? _ ) like Han Wenqing.

He wants to be brave enough to  _ speak _ with Senior Ye without fumbling.

He didn't want to  _ stutter _ when talking to Senior Ye.

After all, he knows that most of Senior Ye's affectionate response to him is because he seems more like a little brother than a potential boyfriend. He needs to change the image Senior Ye sees in him into someone more mature and casual and  _ fun. _

He hears the sound of click as the call connects and he meets his eyes in the mirror. He looks like a deer caught in a trap.

"Speak, pleb," that must be the greeting they gave. It was indistinguishable since the person on the other end seemed to be eating chips.

Zhou Zekai opened his mouth to reply but no words come out.

"Hm? Hello?" A sound comes from the other end like they were about to take the phone away from their ear and cancel the call.

No.

"Senior!" He closes his eyes and knows he messed up. "How are you! C-Call!" 

He wants to die.

It was the most he had ever said and it was louder than anything that ever came out of his mouth.

That is not cool.

That is not mature. 

That is  _ Huang Shaotian  _ level of uncoolness.

He wants to hang up but he can't. His whole being is frozen. He can't breathe. He can't move. He can't think past this embarrassing moment.

Argh.

"Huh? What?" Senior says. "Wait, uh, Zhou Zekai?" 

A noise escapes from him. The voice is different but similar. Maybe there is hope. Maybe he hadn't messed up Senior's impression of him.

There are sounds from the other side that he cannot fully understand. Then, the speaker comes close to the mic and says, "Aiya! Sorry, sorry, this isn't Xiu-ge. Uh, it’s his brother from before.”

Zhou Zekai sighed in relief and fell down in a boneless heap.  _ Thank you. _

"Yeah, uh, Xiu-ge is out right now," Ye-di says.

"En," he replies.

"Well, er, sorry," he finishes lamely.

Zhou Zekai initiates the conversation, "Call."

"Um, you'll call again? Okay, I'll tell him then," the younger Ye says.

He shook his head, "No. Call."

"You want Xiu-ge to call you?" He guessed.

"En."

"Okay, he'll definitely call you," there were rustles on the other line. "In fact, I'm noting it down on the calendar and he will most definitely call you. I will remind him just like I reminded him before. Because I didn’t forget the last time. Okay?"

"En."  _ Thanks. _

He was about to hang up but then Ye-di said, “Ah. Word of advice though, don't shout," a teasing tone that is so similar to Senior Ye. His face flushed in embarrassment.

"E-en."  _ Please forget about it. _

"I'm sure our Xiu-ge knows you enough for him to understand your words," he said, "It’s good you’re trying but if you're having difficulty, don't push yourself too hard. You can do one word, then do another. It’s all baby steps."

Something stirs inside him. He wonders if its a different kind of shyness - one that he isn't used to.

"Thank-" he gives a nod before taking a deep breath - "you."

"Aiya! There we go, two words. Good on you," Ye-di laughed and then, "Ah! I’m not bullying you or anything. That was genuine congratulations.”

“En.”  _ Thank you. _

“Well - uh, I’ll tell Xiu-ge he should call you then,” he said. “Bye.”

"En."  _ Bye. _

The phone call ends.

When he looks up at the mirror, it takes him a while to realize that he's smiling the same smile he uses when Senior Ye notices him. 

\---

Ye Xiuwu groaned, "Crap! I knew I forgot something."

He stood up from the sofa where he was slumped over. He remembers now that the number one on his 'must avoid' list called San Ye before and is waiting for a call back. And he is most likely to tell San Ye that Xiuwu told him he’ll tell the former to call back.

"Who was that on the phone?" Fourth Ye sat on the sofa he abandoned and ate the chips he left behind. 

"Number One in ‘Must Avoid List,’" Ye Xiuwu took the receipt that he crumpled and transferred the reminder he wrote on his palm. There, he'll pin this near San Ye's computer and this whole thing is off his back. He hopes Big Ye doesn’t find out about his blunder and proceed to tease him.

"Creeper Sun Xiang?" Fourth asks.

"No, Zhou Zekai," he clarified.

"He called again?" Mucheng comes out of nowhere and he blinks in surprise at her. She sits beside Xiusi and they share his bag of chips between them. 

“‘Again’?" He sees the evil gleam in his 'twin's' eyes. He does not like it. "Aww, is our 'rebellious' Fifth Ye going through puberty and becoming the 'Gunner King's wife'. Awwww." 

Ye Xiuwu tried really hard not to pounce at him and strangle his future self.

“You read that?” Mucheng grinned widely, “I kudos-ed, bookmarked, and subscribed to that. 1⁄4 of the hits are probably me.”

Ye Xiuwu looked at her with the look that conveyed the betrayal he feels. On the other hand, Xiusi is laughing his butt off. He decides the best course of action is to prevent this future self from ever happening by trying to suffocate him with the pillow. Xiusi pushed the pillow forward and tried to suffocate him back.

Mucheng laughed at them.

"Ya, you're the one who went all 'good job' and 'congratulations uwu'," Xiusi teased. "Come on, Fifth, tell us if you're becoming an adult now."

"Aaaargh!" He lunged forward again.

As the 'twin brothers' continue with their rowdy dog play, Mucheng showed off her speed by taking out her phone and typing a message to the female Glory players. 

This will be a great prompt for their talented writers, and she's certain that Yunxiu would  _ love  _ to hear about this new development with her CP.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Invidia. I'm throwing happiness blessings to you.
> 
> Hi. Come visit me.  
> Tumblr: [Eulphy](http://www.eulphy.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter: [@_awyn](https://twitter.com/_therebaeka)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** I don't know where my Ye Xiuwu voice went. It probably decided to take a vacation with my Zhou Zekai voice. Sigh.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

Zhou Zekai has a skip on his step.

The day is going perfectly in his opinion. He managed to grab a chance and fight against Senior Ye (even if it was a quick battle with his hand being more tired from fighting with the other Lord Grim prior). Senior answered his QQ. Huang Shaotian didn’t get the chance to fight Senior since Yu Wenzhou called dibs in the battle against Senior as Blue Rain’s representatives.

Overall, he has to say that it’s a good day.

He knew that his teammates have been giving him a wide berth, especially after the whole failure to join the 50-players dungeon, then not catching Senior Ye on the phone, waiting for Senior Ye’s callback, and another call to the number Senior Ye gave him but with Ye-di answering.

His Vice Captain patted his back and told him to keep up the bright aura. Apparently, it boosted morale and productivity within the team.

Zhou Zekai shrugged it off.

Nothing could trample over his positive attitude.

“Ah!” He didn’t know if Senior would actually answer him this time but with how his luck is going, he wants to try. Maybe third time's the charm after all. He wants to tell Senior that it was a Good Game and maybe Senior would praise him.

His eyes brightens and his face reddens. Ah. To hear Senior Ye praise him would lift him to the high heavens.

_Ring._

One. His fingers tap his knees reminiscent of tapping on a keyboard.

 _Ring_.

Two. His tapping becomes faster. It is in the movement of a pattern.

_Ring._

Three. Ah, Senior, please answer.

_Ri--_

“You’ve reached Ye residence where Ye Xiu never answers the phone and you only call when I’m the only one near the phone. This isn’t Ye Xiu speaking. How are you, Zhou Zekai?” Ye-di’s voice is slowly becoming familiar.

“En,” though it wasn’t Senior who answered, his mood didn’t plummet.

“So, do you have a message for Xiu-ge that isn’t a ‘call me back’?” His tone is teasing and it is easy to imagine that he and Ye-di whom he has never even met before have an amicable sort of acquaintance.

“Good game,” his face reddened at his bold reply.

“Ah. When you guys cornered Xiu-ge and PK-ed with him,” Ye-di snickers.

“Which?” Zhou Zekai hasn’t actually looked twice at any of the other members of Chaos Theory. He wonders which avatar is Ye-di’s. Is he the other Lord Grim he fought before? But the teasing voice whose been his kind-of bridge with Senior doesn’t seem to fit with the aggressive, trash talking, and rude other Lord Grim.

Maybe he's the Sharpshooter? That one was another eye catching player.

“Which player am I?” Rustles sounded on the other end.

“En.” The voice is also too young to be the precocious Blademaster Huang Shaotian had spent who knows how many chatboxes ranting about before he realized he was in the wrong chat.

“I play Cleric - Cloudy Autumn Sky,” he said.

Zhou Zekai tilted his head and remembered the fierce Cleric who led Chaos Theory’s alliance in stealing the Boss. He hadn’t expected that. Still…

“Good game, Ye-di,” there weren’t any pauses for breath there. He didn’t want to stutter so he said it as fast as he could.

A pause on the other end. Then, a laugh.

It’s a nice laugh.

“Good game too, Zhou Zekai,” he said. "Si-ge and I can say that the title Gunner King is well-deserved."

“En.” _Thank you._

It's odd. The person praising him isn't Senior Ye but his heart feels lighter and his mood brighter. Comments like the one Ye-di gave are normal for him. He's heard numerous variants of the same compliment. But Ye-di's acknowledgement felt honest and it made his heart beat wildly.

Huh? Maybe it's because Ye-di is Senior Ye's relative. That must be it.

“Ah, by the way,” Ye-di says before he drops the call, “It’s not Ye-di, it’s Xiuwu.”

 _Ye Xiuwu_.

He wonders if its Wu for the number or Wu for noon.

\---

Ye Xiuwu drops the call. It's the third time and it's hardly been a month. He wonders if he should tell Zhou Zekai that the number he was given happens to be the Ye's shared number and that stupid present him doesn't even carry around any personal phone.

Pfft. Like cellphones killed his entire family or something.

Although considering if he did have a phone then Ye Qiu can easily pester him, or they could order him around like getting him to buy takeouts.

Huh, maybe he actually did get smarter in time. Who knew that he could get smarter than he already is. Nice.

But back to the matter with Zhou Zekai.

He knew that Ye Xiu already knows he has to call Zhou Zekai to appease the younger (older) man. He really didn't need to tell him that he called right?

Besides, no one needs to know that he kind of told him his fake name and they told each other 'good game'.

Da Ye has a nose for the drama and he knows that when he takes over the company, he ends up with twice as much schadenfreude even to his own selves.

And he isn't trusting Mucheng with this again. Not after he found out that she knows the authors for those damnable Zhou Zekai x Ye Xiuwu fanfics.

Hmph. Better keep mum about this. It's not like this is going to bite him back in the ass, right?

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For our author, Invida, and to all the readers like me who love Chaos Theory. To those who haven't read it yet. Read it, beau. It's a 10/10.
> 
> I'm throwing happiness blessings to all of you. 
> 
> Hi. Come visit me.  
> Tumblr: [Eulphy](http://www.eulphy.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter: [@_awyn](https://twitter.com/_therebaeka)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is crack, right? So why is there introspection. Wth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does one write again?

Zhou Zekai's heart hurts. He is with his team in the common room when the news broke. The team unanimously decided to put down their headphones and shut down their PC so they could watch the live press conference of Chaos Theory after the jaw dropping revelation regarding Senior Ye's less than amicable parting with Excellent Era.

The news broke his heart, if he's being honest. To learn that Senior Ye had to face such hardship during and after Excellent Era. It's unfair, really.

It's not that much of a stretch that if Zhou Zekai is the face of the Pro Glory League, then Senior Ye is its backbone.

He's the how and why Pro Glory League even flourished. How could Excellent Era do that to their Battle God? Do they think that it's the Avatar that holds the title and not its user?

What a load of dung.

These thoughts stir inside his mind as he sit there and wait for the press conference to begin.

His eyes sought Senior Ye amongst the sea of Ye look-alikes. It's daunting to realize that had they all been the same age, wore the same clothes and had the same hairstyle, then it would be difficult to tell them apart.

He sees the older Ye - both oozing aura of competency and maturity - having their small airtime before being pushed aside to make room for the youngest pair of Ye twins.

Ye Xiusi and Ye Xiuwu, the TV informed him.

The two of them were handsome, clean cut and had the physique of a model. Just like the others, they look like Senior Ye, and they also have the same look in their face as Senior's as the reporters bombarded them with questions which they nicely deflected.

Then, Senior Ye's twin - a handsome young man who has an air of an emperor around him. 

Jiang Botao comments on how difficult it is for them to tell the two brothers apart if they wear the same suit.

Huh.

Zhou Zekai finds that it's actually easier to tell Senior Ye apart from his same age twin than to find him in the sea of other Ye who aren't his age. Weird.

Then, the press conference continues and spirals downward.

"What?" Shouts of outrage ring in Samsara as they find out just how much Senior Ye is paid yearly.

Then they hear him say that it's because he doesn't have any commercial value and he knows that his team turns to look at him, the most commercial person in Pro Glory League.

Senior, he sniffles.

His phone is on his hand quickly and he is typing his outrage against Excellent Era to Senior Ye's QQ.

He wants to call, wants to assure Senior Ye that he has Zhou Zekai on his side and whatever he wants, he's willing to give, but Jiang Botao thankfully reminded that Senior Ye is in a press conference and he should call  _ after _ it.

So, with a heavy heart, he waits until after the press conference before he calls. For certainty, he waits 30 more minutes before he dials the number on his favorite list.

_ Ring. Ring. Ring. Riii-- _

As usual, the other line picks up after the third ring.

"Senior!" He rushes on, "I saw. Senior, fine?" 

"Hello, Zhou Zekai," Ye Xiuwu's familiar voice answers, "No, this isn't Xiu-ge; yes, he's fine; no, he can't come to the phone right now, but as his sometimes personal secretary, you can leave a message for him."

"Junior Ye," he sighs but it's not of disappointment.

"Well, that's new," he says. There are a lot of noise on his end.

"Sorry," he looks down, "disturbing you."

There's a chuckle, "Well, me needing to answer the phone actually gives me a reason to duck and leave the vultures. So, thanks for disturbing me."

With his heart pounding, Zhou Zekai decides that even if its through Ye Xiuwu, he wants Senior Ye to know what he has to say. "Senior, he -" a frustrated noise leaves his throat as it clams up and what comes out is, "Not fair!" 

"Xiu-ge isn't fair?" Amusement colors Ye Xiuwu's voice. "Why? What did he do to you?" 

Panic rises in him. No. Ye Xiuwu can't misunderstand. Jiang Botao, help. He doesn't know what to do as he loses his voice in a panic.

"Calm down, I'm just joking," Ye Xiuwu says. "And yes, what happened to Xiu-ge really isn't fair."

"Tell," he tries again, "I'm with Senior. Samsara too."

His face flushed when a few beats of silence pass before Ye Xiuwu answered again. "Thanks," his voice is soft and had it been a little deeper and older, he would've been fooled to think it's Senior Ye. "I'm glad to know that Xiu-ge isn't alone."

"No, not alone," he shakes his head. "You."

"He has us, but what if we weren't here," Ye Xiuwu says, "Thank you, for having San-ge's back."

"En."  _ Always _ . "Senior is… Glory's."

"Huh?"

"We play," he stammers, "Because Senior shone."

"Zhou Zekai…" 

He wanted to say the Glory now is Senior Ye's legacy. He will go down in history as one of the foundations of Pro Glory scene. He couldn't say it though, ears burning at how drama monologue it sounds like even in his mind. 

"Please," he says instead, "Thank you, Senior."

_ Thank you for being Glory's god. Thank you for being an inspiration to young players. Thank you for being you, Senior. _

There's a pause. His face is burning and he wants to cancel the call in embarrassment. But then, Ye Xiuwu speaks again.

"I'll tell Xiu-ge what you told me," he sounds emotional but ends it with a teasing, "Don't worry, I promise to edit our conversation so it's not verbatim to what you've said."

"En," he blushes, "thank you, Ye Xiuwu."

Another pause, "And thank you too, Zhou Zekai."

The call drops.

Zhou Zekai makes a note to look up at the news report on this whole issue and check on the whole family.

\---

Ye Xiuwu stares at the call log with Zhou Zekai's contact number flashing on the screen. His finger hovers over his name before he lowers it to close the phone.

He sighs, pocketing the phone but a smile is left on his face.

He may have acknowledged Zhou Zekai gaining the Gunner King's title but that doesn't mean he stopped harboring bitter feelings for the older (younger) man.

But the ineloquent young man's words made his heart flutter.

It was awful, really, to find out his future self's haven was taken away from him. Everyday, his mind wanders to horrible scenarios. Had he and the other Ye's not arrived here, then he would have been left with only Mucheng on his side. 

"I'm with Senior," Zhou Zekai had said.

It was short and small perhaps to him, but it brought warm feelings to the 18 years old version of Ye Xiu.

A small part of him is glad. One of his fears assuaged. His future self doesn't have to face it alone. 

"Because Senior shone," he also said.

Ye Xiu's actions had touched people in a positive way. A part of him wanted to live the life of his future, to know what he has done to cause Zhou Zekai to say what he said before.

He has a smile on his face the whole day.

Yes, he decided, the Gunner King isn't that bad of a kid.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the one time Ye Xiu answered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just ended up finishing it because my muse would've vanished if I didn't write it down.
> 
> Hope it's okay to the readers.

Zhou Zekai calls the number multiple times the past month. Senior Ye is always either out, playing and can’t be disturbed, or asleep. Ye Xiuwu continues to answer his calls.

Usually, when Zhou Zekai dials the Ye number - and isn't that odd? He doesn't know when in the past month he stopped calling it Senior Ye’s number and started thinking about it as a collective Ye’s number - it will only take three or four rings before Ye Xiuwu answers.

He’ll say a generic greeting that is slowly becoming more familiar like, “This isn’t Xiu-ge speaking” or “This is other Ye, how may I help you?” or “This isn’t the Ye you are looking for, what’s up?” or “This is your usual messenger speaking, please leave a message after the beep - beeeeep.”

The last one is his favorite thus far.

So, it’s a surprise when he called the number and after four rings, there still wasn’t an answer. He drops the call and he tries again.

_Ring._

Huh, maybe the phone was left behind.

_Ring._

Or maybe it was left on silent.

 _Ring_.

Really, for a family of capable gamers, the Ye’s are quite ignorant with phones.

_Riiii-- click._

An answer. He sighs in relief.

“Hello, Xiao Zhou?” He blinks at the greeting. That’s not how Ye Xiuwu greets him. And he’s very certain that his Junior Ye wouldn’t call him ‘Xiao’.

Hesitant, he asks, “Ye Xiuwu?”

A pause and then a snort, “No,” the voice on the other end was full of mirth. “This is Ye Xiu speaking. Is A-Wu who you’re looking for?”

 _Yes_ , he almost said. But no, that’s wrong. He’s been calling this past month for Senior Ye, waiting for him to answer the phone. He’s finally answered. So, why did he hesitate?

“N-no!” He straightens, shaking his head as if Senior could see him. “I… Senior…”

“I’m just kidding,” Senior Ye laughs - that teasing laugh and ‘just kidding’ is so similar to how Ye Xiuwu would reply to him. “I didn’t know Xiao Zhou and our A-Wu talk to each other that much.”

“Ye-di,” he starts and tries to find the right words. “To Senior.”

A beat. “Ah, so that’s what those post-its that’s been left on my computer are about. I wondered what those reminders to call you were about.”

“Senior…” Zhou Zekai sniffles. Did that mean that Senior was getting his message and still not calling him.

“I’m just joking, Xiao Zhou, I knew they were from you,” Senior says. “I’m just more comfortable with QQ. Sorry for not calling you back.”

“En.” _It’s okay_.

“Ah, but it seems you and our family’s Fifth have gotten close,” Senior Ye isn’t beside him but it felt like his side was being nudged teasingly.

“I - Senior…” He wants to say that it’s not whatever Senior is trying to imply. He’s not after his younger cousin, really. He’s after _Senior Ye_ not the kind and fun and easy to talk to Ye Xiuwu.

Really.

Senior, please.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Zhou,” Senior says, “it’s the first time I get to be the one answering your calls and yet I’m not letting you speak. So, why did you call?”

Zhou Zekai couldn’t find the words to answer. He didn’t know _what_ to answer. Sometimes, he would call the Ye’s number to have someone _talk_ and listen to him, even if he couldn’t articulate properly. He knows that Ye Xiuwu would listen to his attempts and would encourage him.

“Just,” he wants to put those practice he had with Ye Xiuwu. “Talk. Just to talk.”

“You want to just talk?” Senior Ye repeats. “Well, that’s okay. What do you want to talk about?”

Ah, a curveball.

“G-Game,” he cries inwardly at the topic he brought up.

Still, Senior Ye talks about Glory and tactics. It is easy to continue the conversation. Well, as easy as it is for Zhou Zekai. His heart beats wildly at the reminder that he is having an actual conversation with Senior Ye. It’s different from talking with Ye Xiuwu. With Senior Ye, he finds himself more self-conscious, watching out for his words.

It’s odd.

That thought continues to run in his mind even after he and Senior Ye drop the call.

He wonders what it means that he’s more comfortable to talk through the phone with Senior Ye’s cousin whom he hasn’t even actually formally met face-to-face.

Odd.

\---

Third Ye enters the room with a peculiar look on his face.

The whole ‘family’ is in the common room for once. Of course, other members of Chaos Theory are there as well. They’re watching a video of a game between Samsara and Blue Rain from the finals, popcorn being shared.

“Hey,” he calls out, sliding in his seat near Su Mucheng and Little Ye. “Fifth, I didn’t think you were regularly talking with Xiao Zhou.”

It was a casual comment but the look his eighteen years old self directs towards him is one of utter betrayal. A complete, _how could you? I trusted you?_ He couldn’t understand what the dramatic is for.

Ah, but…

“Oooh, is our A-Wu going through puberty?” Snickers Big Ye.

“Shut up!” Fifth Ye cries out.

“Hmmm, I don’t think there’s a story with that premise yet,” Second Ye, who seemed to be fond with reading those RPFs, grinned.

“Shut up, shut up, I hate all of you!”

“Awww,” Fourth Ye’s arm is around his ‘twin’s’ neck, hugging him closer, “We love you too. But probably not as much the Gunner King - ack!” Fifth Ye had tackled him and they’re grappling on the ground.

“Guys, come on,” An Wenyi tries to calm his friends.

Ye Xiu looks at Su Mucheng who is grinning from ear-to-ear and texting in startling speed and he decides he doesn’t want to know.

The team meeting is over now. Tease Ye Xiuwu is now in session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this story ended well. Either because it's funny, or because we ship ZhouWu.
> 
> Also, yes, I said 4 times but here I implied many other times. I'm sorry.
> 
> Please read Chaos Theory, an amazing story made by Invidia_Envy. Read it. Gooooo.
> 
> Hi. Come visit me.  
> Tumblr: [Eulphy](http://www.eulphy.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter: [@_awyn](https://twitter.com/_therebaeka)


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